Minor Project
23/4/2025 - 1/8/2025 / Week 1 - Week 15
Kerly Ooi / 0358726
Minor Project / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Final Compilation | Yubari (Expedio)
INSTRUCTIONS
TASKS
TASK 1 | PROPOSAL
Group Formation | Week 1
On the first week, Mr Mike gave us a briefing of the project we will be carrying out in the next 14 weeks. We were instructed to form a group with people from different specializations and choose a topic from given topic lists for the project.
Below are the topics to choose from:
- WarisanXR Digital Hologram Experience
- WayangMind – Mindfulness Solution
- EXPEDIO Project: Self-Watering Pot & Mood Light
- CONTINENTAL TIRES Project (for SOE groups)
- IMPACT LAB: Edu4All – The Night School Project
- IMPACT LAB: Food Security and Nutrition – Food Aid Foundation
- IMPACT LAB: Innovation and Technology for Sustainable Hospitality and Tourism
After reviewing the options, we were required to form groups of 6–7 members. My group decided to collaborate on the EXPEDIO Project: Self-Watering Pot & Mood Light.
Fig 1.1 Group formation list
Week 2
This week focused on finalising our group members and revisiting the recorded lecture on MyTimes to better understand the project’s goals and expectations.
Week 3
In Week 3, we had our first online meeting with our clients from Expedio Design. They told us about the main goal of our project, which was the Yubari Self-Watering Pot. They gave a thorough presentation that covered the product's background, purpose, target audience, price, market position, marketing goals, and future plans. We learnt a lot about their vision during this session, and it helped us make our project direction more closely with their expectations.
After meeting with our clients, we learned that a key goal is to build a strong, connected brand community. They encouraged us to research what drives engagement and loyalty, focusing on emotional branding, interactive content, and consistent audience connection.
Contextual Research & User Personas | Week 3 - 5
We then began our contextual research, examining product competitors, target audience insights, marketing strategy direction, brand identity, positioning, and visual identity.
My research findings are as follows:
Fig 1.2 Contextual Research (my part)
After consulting with Mr. Mike, we were advised to research how successful brands build strong communities and what keeps people engaged. He also encouraged us to consider ways to educate the public and promote adoption of our Yubari product concept.
Following that, I assigned tasks to my group members and organised them in a Figma chart to make it easy for everyone to understand what their responsibilities were.
Fig 1.3 Figma chart
For my part, I focused on ideation, specifically exploring new and creative ways to promote the Yubari brand, rather than just the product. This involved thinking beyond product features and considering strategies that could strengthen brand presence, connect with our target audience, and build long-term recognition.
Fig 1.4 Ideation about new way to promote Brand (not product)
During our consultation with Mr. Mike, he emphasised the importance of researching what motivates consumers to stay engaged in a brand community. He encouraged us to study how successful brands use emotional branding, social media engagement, and audience interaction to build loyalty and long-term connections.
In response, we expanded our research on brand communities and created three user personas — The Nester, Early Millennials, and Gen Z. These personas helped us define our target segments, understand their needs and emotional triggers, and shape strategies to ensure Yubari’s branding resonates with each group while fostering a strong, engaged community.
Fig 1.5 3 User personas (draft)
Fig 1.6 More research on Successful Community Analysis
(Why do consumers stays?)
User Personas
After consulting with Mr. Mike, we refined our three user personas by revising the first persona (mother) to ensure each one was clearly distinct. Below are the final user personas based on our empathy map.
Fig 1.7 User Personas & Empathy Map
We also finalised the target audience distribution for our survey:
- 60% Gen Z,
- 20% young home creators/nester (Early Millennials)
- 20% female entrepreneurs
Mr. Mike also reminded us to align our survey questions with the three personas. After combining everyone’s input, we finalised the draft and submitted it to him for feedback.
Survey Questions & Insights Discovery (Miro Board) | Week 6 - 9
This week, we refined our survey questions based on Mr. Mike’s feedback. He reminded us to focus on questions that would help us develop a promotional ad strategy aimed at persuading the three personas to purchase Yubari. He also provided examples to give us a clearer understanding of how to approach this.
Fig 1.8 Initial Survey Questions
Fig 1.9 Feedback & Examples Questions (from Mr Mike)
Final Google Survey Form
Our goal was to gather at least 50 survey responses, so we shared it with family and friends who fit our user personas. This targeted approach ensured the data collected was relevant and valuable, helping us develop a more accurate and impactful promotional strategy.
After collecting data from our 52 respondents, Sue Zhiun, Charmine, and I began analysing the results and working on the insights discovery section in our Miro board.
Fig 1.10 Survey Results & Data Analysis
At the same time, each member was tasked with identifying the top five findings from the data analysis that they felt were most important.
Once everyone had completed their part based on Top 5 findings, I reviewed all the inputs and, with Tyra’s help, organised them into clear categories, grouping similar points together under relevant sections. This collaboration helped streamline our insights and made it easier to identify key themes for our project.
Fig 1.11 Insights Discovery
After receiving Mr. Mike’s approval on our findings, we proceeded to draft the problem statement using the insights gathered from the survey as well as working on the How Might We's(HMW's) section.
Fig 1.12 POV & HMW's
After completing the POV section, we sent it to Mr. Mike for feedback. Based on his comments, we refined and clarified the content to make it more focused. Once the POV was finalised, we proceeded to work on our proposal slides.
Design Proposal Slides | Week 10
We conducted our first online presentation with the client, where we showcased the work we had prepared so far. Below are the presentation slides we created to communicate our ideas, research findings, and proposed direction for the Yubari brand.
TASK 2 | IDEA EXECUTION
Gantt Chart & Customer Journey Mapping | Week 11
Mr. Mike briefed us on the content required for the final presentation. Following this, we began creating both the user journey map and the customer journey map to clearly define and plan our design tasks.
Fig 1.13 Customer Journey Map & User Journey Map
We also started preparing a Gantt chart to monitor our progress and ensure we remained on track in the lead-up to the final presentation.
Deliverables | Week 12 - 15
Mr. Mike mentioned that our art direction was still unclear and advised that we define distinct keywords for the project. After some deliberation, we settled on "simple," "calm," and "playful" as Yubari's major keywords. He urged us to create with them in mind, and suggested making a poster as a starting point to help reinforce our art direction.
Initial Colour Palette
Weehan led the selection of the colour palette, focusing on green tones to represent our self-watering pot while conveying a sense of calm. I then shared several palette options with the group via WhatsApp for voting, and together we finalised the one shown below.
Fig 1.14 Initial Colour Palette
Typography
Fig 1.15 Typefaces
Poster
Charmine took the lead in designing the poster, creating multiple variations and sharing them with us via WhatsApp for feedback. After reviewing and voting, we selected the 13th composition as it best captured our concept and overall vibe.
Fig 1.16 Key Visual Poster
Packaging & Affirmation Cards
Fig 1.17 Initial Packaging and Affirmation Cards Design
Mobile Application
Our groupmates Wei Yi and Jin Rong worked on the mobile application’s structure and feature design, while WeeHan contributed by adding colours, images, and making design adjustments.
Fig 1.18 Initial App Design
Week 13
Mr. Mike approved our customer journey map and noted that the art direction appeared to be heading in the right direction.
During class, we presented our progress on the poster, packaging, affirmation card, and mobile application. However, he pointed out inconsistencies across the designs, as they were not following a unified art direction, which became a challenge for us. He also mentioned that while my packaging design looked appealing, it did not align with our main target audience of university students and instead felt more suited to an older demographic. His advice was to make it more playful in order to better resonate with Gen Z.
Feeling somewhat stuck, we began discussing and refining our design concept. After brainstorming, we decided to center our art direction around a calm, minimal, and nurturing style.
Fig 1.19 Art Direction
After discussion, we agreed that Yubari’s art direction should reflect a calm, minimal, and nurturing style in line with the brand’s MeTime concept. We then refined each element, including the color palette, logo confirmation, and the designs for all deliverables.
Final Colour Palette
Once the concept was confirmed, we made slight adjustments to the colour palette, replacing the “Ivory Mist” shade with a warmer cream tone.
Fig 1.20 Final Colour Palette
Yubari Logo
Following this, we voted on Yubari’s logo, and the design shown below was selected as the final version. We used all lowercase letters to convey a friendly and approachable feel, and added a small plant sprout above the letter “i” that visually resembles a plant pot, perfectly tying in with our product and concept.
Fig 1.21 Final Yubari Logo
We also discussed the features of the Yubari Plant(s) & Mood Tracking App, which connects to the smart plant pot. Its main concept is to have the pot’s light change colour according to the user’s mood. The app offers the following features:
- Sending notifications prompting users to rate their emotions.
- Changing the pot’s light based on selected moods, starting with Happy, Sad, Angry, and Neutral, with more nuanced emotions like Anxiety or Calm unlocking as users level up.
- Monitoring plant health and providing care reminders for watering and sunlight needs.
- Using AI to recommend suitable light colors, while offering emotion and plant diary functions alongside personalized tips.
- Adding social elements where users can invite friends, share moods (optionally), and view each other’s plant health updates.
- Allowing friends to send plant care reminders and emotional support, fostering a connected Yubari community.
- Rewarding friend invitations with pot charms, care tools, or app points.
Week 14 & 15
Social Media UGC & Carousel Posts, Stories, Testimonials
For the social media deliverables I worked on, I developed User-Generated Content (UGC) ideas to encourage the audience to share their Yubari experiences and setups. I also designed carousel posts to present information in a clear, swipe-friendly format, maintaining a consistent layout and colour scheme.
Fig 1.22 Progresses
I also made testimonial posts to highlight positive user feedback, adding trust and emotional appeal. All designs followed the same style, colour palette, and typography to keep Yubari’s social media look cohesive. Final outcome is shown below.
Fig 1.23 Progresses
Coming Soon poster
Fig 1.24 Coming Soon poster
Reels
Final Packaging & Mock-up
Fig 1.25 Final Packaging (left) & Mockup (right)
Final Affirmation Card
Fig 1.26 Final Affirmation Card
Final Website Design
Fig 1.27 Final Wesbite
Final Application Design
Fig 1.28 Final Application Design & Function
Before the final presentation, I thoroughly reviewed all our work to ensure everything was ready, including a detailed check of the application design with Weiyi. We went through each feature to confirm it functioned smoothly, verified that the colour scheme was consistent, and made sure the overall design was polished and ready to present.
TASK 3 | FINAL PRESENTATION
In Week 15, we delivered our final presentation and were pleased to receive positive feedback from Expedio, who felt our design aligned well with their expectations.
SUBMISSION
YUBARI G3 Miro Board
Link to Miro Board: YUBARI | G3 Miro
Design Proposal Presentation
Final Presentation
Project Tracking Document
FEEDBACK
Week 3
Exercises :
Specific feedback : The client is not focused on sales at the moment but aims to build a community. Since Yubari is not character-based and lacks a strong universe like Pop Mart or Labubu, its emotional hook needs to be defined. Provide more detailed research on what keeps consumers engaged in a brand community, including how other brands build loyalty and maintain engagement. Explore social media content styles, interaction approaches, and emotional branding strategies that consistently resonate with the audience.
Week 4
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Narrow the target audience further within the three user persona categories (Nester, Early Millennials, and Gen Z). For the personas, focus on groups such as people who don’t plant at all, those who try but often fail, and busy individuals who have many plants but no time to water them.
Week 5
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Revise the first persona (mother) to ensure all three personas are clearly distinct. As a group, decide on the percentage for each persona. Base the survey questions on the three personas, combine them with your existing questions, and send the final version to Mr. Mike for feedback.
Week 6
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Apply the branching concept in Google Forms and refine the survey questions.
Week 7
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Proceed to Data Analysis & Insight Discovery (after collecting data)
Week 8
Exercises :
No class : ILW (Independent Learning Week)
Week 9
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Mr. Mike approved the Insight Discovery findings. Draft the problem statement based on survey patterns, revise the POV section for clarity and focus, and continue working on the proposal slides.
Week 11
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Mr. Mike briefed on the key content for the final presentation. Work on the User Journey Map, Customer Journey Map, and Gantt Chart.
Week 12
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Mr. Mike said the art direction was unclear. Define clear project keywords — use “minimalist,” “calm,” and “playful” as Yubari’s core keywords.
Week 13
Exercises :
Specific feedback : Make the design more playful to appeal to Gen Z and ensure a consistent art direction across all work.
Week 14
Exercises :
Specific feedback : The overall design direction is now consistent. However, the tone currently leans more mature. Since our main target audience is university students, we were advised to introduce more playful elements, similar to those used in our poster, to better align with the audience's preferences.
REFLECTIONS
Being the leader of the Yubari group was an incredibly rewarding experience. The client provided us with the product, a desk-friendly self-watering pot and mood light inspired by the Japanese Yubari melon, along with key details such as its introduction, purpose, target audience, marketing goals, price positioning, and product roadmap. Our role was to take this foundation and develop a complete, cohesive brand identity that would resonate with the intended audience. This process gave me valuable insight into translating product information into a unified visual and verbal brand presence. We worked on shaping Yubari’s tone, look, and personality, ensuring that every element, from the colour palette and typography to packaging, social media layouts, app functions and so on, consistently reflected the product’s purpose of promoting emotional wellness and easy plant care.
Coming from a graphic design background, I was fortunate to lead a team with a well-balanced mix of skills, four from graphic design, one from immersive design, and two from UI/UX. This diversity allowed us to distribute tasks evenly, with each member contributing according to their strengths. As the leader, my responsibility was to coordinate these strengths, make timely decisions, delegate tasks effectively, and ensure that all outputs aligned with Yubari’s brand direction and the client’s vision. One challenge we encountered was maintaining consistency in our art direction at the beginning. After further discussions, we quickly found the right direction and aligned our designs across packaging, social media templates, and printed materials. Even with limited time, we managed to refine everything effectively, and I’m happy with the final outcome we achieved as a team.
Overall, this project not only strengthened my skills in branding, creative direction, and problem-solving but also deepened my appreciation for teamwork. Each member brought unique strengths, from creative ideation and presentation skills to writing, compositing, and visual design — and I am grateful for their dedication and collaboration, which allowed us to bring Yubari’s identity to life in a way that both reflects the client’s product and connects with its Gen Z audience.
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